First Version of a Data Flow Procedure Language

Abstract

A language for representing computational procedures based on the concept of data flow is presented in terms of a semantic model that permits concurrent execution of noninterfering program parts. Procedures in the language operate on elementary and structured values, and always define functional transformations of values. The language is equivalent in expressive power to a block structured language with internal procedure variables and is a generalization of pure Lisp. The language is being used as a model for study of fundamental semantic constructs for programming, as a target language for evaluating translatability of programs expressed as the user-language level, and as a guide for research in advanced computer architecture.